L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels in partnership with France's Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN), presents a retrospective dedicated to the collection of the great twentieth-century French writer Roger Caillois (1913-1978) from November 6, 2025 to March 29, 2026.

The exhibition includes iconic texts penned by Roger Caillois and nearly two hundred minerals from his collection, now part of the MNHN’s collections. This exceptional dialogue between science and poetry is the work of Pr. François Farges, PhD, curator of the exhibition and scientist in charge of the MNHN’s collections of gems and objets d’art.

An essayist, grammarian and poet, Roger Caillois devoted part of his work to better comprehending the connections between nature and art. Driven by his insatiable curiosity, scientific precision and boundless imagination, this master of the French language collected stones with passion and erudition for over twenty-five years.

And it was the minute contemplation of minerals that inspired much of his reflections and poetic genius. The exhibition “Stones and Reveries: The Poetry and Minerals of Roger Caillois” delves into the writer’s intimate ties to the mineral world. Featuring more than two hundred specimens from his collection, many of which will be displayed for the first time, and bringing them into dialogue with his texts, the exhibition reveals the writer’s prolific mind.

“We are delighted to shine a light on a fascinating, little-known literary figure. Our partnership with France's Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, which houses Roger Caillois’s collection, illustrates our shared commitment to disseminating knowledge. We hope to surprise and amaze our visitors by inspiring them to reverie before the beauty of Roger Caillois’s minerals and the richness of his mind. This exhibition will also be accompanied by a new editorial partnership with Éditions Gallimard.” says Élise Gonnet-Pon, Managing Director of L'ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts France & Europe.

Practical information

Dates: November 6th, 2025 - March 29th, 2026

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from 11:00am to 7:00pm; Open late on Thursdays until 9:00pm

Location: L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau, 16 bis, boulevard Montmartre, 75009 Paris

Free admission under reservation here.

About L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts

Established in 2012 with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts aims to introduce the public to all aspects of jewelry culture through various activities: courses, workshops, talks, exhibitions, books and podcast.

Activities at L’ÉCOLE cover three main areas: the history of jewelry, the world of gemstones and the savoir-faire of jewelry-making techniques. The courses are open to everyone, with no prerequisites: complete beginners as well as enlightened amateurs, collectors and those with a curiosity for the world of jewelry. Students experiment with gestures, skills and tools, guided by their lecturers – art historians, gemologists and craftsmen.

L’ÉCOLE now has four permanent addresses: in Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai. Moreover, since its inception, L’ÉCOLE regularly travels abroad, in Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East, for talks, exhibitions or travelling course programmes that can last one to three weeks. L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewellery Arts therefore contributes to the promotion and visibility of jewellery culture on an international scale.

About the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle

A research centre, museum and university, the Muséum has over the last four centuries remained committed to studying geological, biological and cultural diversity and the relationship between humans and nature. With more than 68 million specimens, its collections are in part exhibited at twelve locations throughout France: its museums, libraries, geological and prehistoric sites and botanical and zoological gardens.

The Muséum’s collections of minerals, rocks and precious gems are the oldest in the world, and it has provided a forum for the emergence of major fields including mineralogy, crystallography and gemology since the eighteenth century. Preserving this rich heritage is central to the Muséum’s mission, which hosts collections of figures who revolutionised the approach to these objects, including that of the writer Roger Caillois.

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